Irredeemable
by sue de nymme
Summary: Can demons be redeemed or are they doomed to a life of evil? The Halliwell sisters decide whether or not to trust a demon. Set around the events of both Long Live The Queen and Forever Charmed. Please R&R.
1. Long Live The Queen

**Long Live The Queen**

Piper flicked her hands and the first of five demons exploded. Three more went in a similar fashion but as Piper raised her hands to finish off the last of the clan -

'Wait, no!' It was Phoebe. 'Leave him.'

'What?' Piper turned to look at her sister, disbelief written across her face.

'But Phoebe, he's a-' Paige's face mirrored her older sister's.

'I know.' Phoebe spoke softly, 'a demon but... He helped me out once. Just leave him.'

Before Piper could argue, the fifth demon bowed his head towards Phoebe, 'my queen.' He dissappeared.

* * *

_A plant sat withered in its pot in the corner of Phoebe's appartment. There was a smashed glass on the floor, the aftermath of Phoebe's own rage, for once not a demon attack. Phoebe herself sat in the middle of the room, her head in her hands._

_A demon shivered in, 'my queen. ' He knelt in front of her._

_'What? What do you want?' The demon waved his hands and cleared up the broken glass. _

_'There is resistance, my queen. The source has asked that I stay here to protect you.'_

_'Well, I don't need protecting so you can just run along.' _

_The demon hesitated. Phoebe glared at him fiercely._

_'My queen, I do not doubt your power, but you are not at the manor now. It will not be just one demon attack. Not even two. If there are any, war will break out. Without your sisters... Allow me to defend you.'_

_Phoebe saw nothing clearly anymore. Her sisters seemed to be out to destroy her. Her husband seemed to be out to destroy everyone else. But Phoebe had always understood people and she saw some shred of integrity in the face of this demon._

_'If war breaks out,' she asked cynically,' how do I know you will be on my side?'_

_'If I betray you, you can vanquish me, with just a flick of your wrists. If I do not defend you, the source will vanquish me with just a flick of his eyelids. But I am not afraid because I am your most loyal servant.'

* * *

_

'I just don't understand, what were you thinking?' Piper yelled across the manor at Phoebe.

'Just drop it, Piper.'

'No, I will not. You just saved a demon. We don't do that, Phoebe. Oh, no, hang on, I forgot. You do.'

Leo walked in from the hallway, he eyed up Phoebe and Piper, 'what's going on?'

'Phoebe saved a demon,' Paige sighed. 'And now Piper's _really_ mad.'

'Well, aren't you? You should be.' Paige shrugged.

Leo looked from one sister to another. This was not unfamiliar territory to him, 'maybe,' he said, consolingly, ' we should hear Phoebe out.'

* * *

_Phoebe sat, not working, at her laptop. She was eavesdropping on a meeting. A group of upper level demons were sat collaborating outsider her bedroom door. Every fibre in Phoebe's body wanted to vanquish them, scream at them, try to make them see the pain that evil caused. One face paralysed her, left her sitting numbly on the bed, listening; Cole. _

_Outside her door, the demons sat calling on their master to kill his new bride._

_'She is too much of a threat, sire. We cannot afford to have a charmed one on the inside.'_

_Cole slammed his hand down on the table. ' She is not a threat. She is my wife and I will not have her spoken about like this.'_

_'Sire,' a second demon urged, 'she is your weakness.' _

_Such open dissent was rare. Phoebe knew this. Tears dripped down her face. _

_Then another familiar voice sounded. It was the bodyguard who had just that day sworn his allegiance to her._

_'Might I speak, sire.'_

_'Go ahead,' Cole was exhasperated._

_'The queen's humanity is frightening for us all. We see a vulnerability in it that we are unused to; an unpredictability. But let us not act rashly. Demons don't make good mothers. They don't make good allies. This is because they are loyal to only one thing; power. Our queen is not like this; she is loyal to her husband, she is loyal to her child. The queen loves and she feels in a way that we cannot. But rather than destroying this, I ask you to see it for what it is; both our greatest weakness and our greatest strength. For years, the charmed ones have eluded us. They have held a power that we could not understand. This power lies in their humanity. Let us embrace it, let us use emotion to make us stronger, to unite us in a way that demons have never been able to unite before. Let the queen teach us to become good allies and good mothers. That evil might have a future. Let us not resist her, let us welcome this new demonic reign; father, queen and child. I raise my glass, to the source's new bride, to the queen of hearts.' _

_There was much murmuring from the room next door but the conversation moved onto other topics. Phoebe closed her eyes. A demon may have just saved my life, she thought, and by promising that I will be the greatest strength the underworld has ever possessed. Feeling overwhelmed, she slugged back the seer's tonic.

* * *

_

'No, Leo. I'm not going to explain. You could have vanquished him, Piper, but I asked you not to and you didn't. Let's just leave it at that.'

'And what about the next time you fancy batting for the other side? Are we supposed to just turn our heads then too?' Piper narrowed her eyes.

'What is that supposed to mean?'

'Oh c'mon, Phoebe. You've always had a thing for the darkside. Cole, Drake, the seer - the second one anyway.'

'They were good people.' Phoebe spoke between gritted teeth, shocked by how quickly Piper had turned on her.

'They were demons!'

'Please, Piper, just because you married an angel doesn't mean you haven't made bad choices. I mean, a walock! A ghost! And it wasn't like Leo was the best choice - he was a _forbidden_ immortal.'

'Leo's got nothing to do with this, Phoebe. This is about you, always living in denial.'

'You're really mean, Piper, do you know that? I mean, for once, couldn't you just have faith in me? Believe that I was doing the right thing?'

* * *

_'Get out! I don't want you here! Get out!' Phoebe shrieked at the seer. The seer didn't move, she simpered at the distressed witch. _

_'My queen, you must drink your tonic.' _

_'I don't want it!' Phoebe's fury broke into desperation. 'Just leave me alone,' she whimpered._

_'Look at you,' the seer's voice was silky. 'Now you have only confusion where the tonic gave you strength.'_

_A demon appeared behind the seer, 'get out.' He commanded calmly. The seer looked at him pityingly, 'you cannot command me.'_

_'I am the queen's bodyguard. She has asked you to leave. Now go.'_

_'I am the queen's counsellor and I am here on the source's orders.' She turned from the demon dismissively._

_'I said, go.' The seer turned, annoyed by the demon's insistence._

_'When I tell the source, he will -'_

_'You may be the source's most powerful servant,' the bodyguard murmured so that Phoebe had to strain to hear the words, ' but I am his most beloved. Who do you think will win in a struggle? Who do you think the source will save? Leave the queen now.'_

_The seer vanished with a twisted smile. Phoebe cocked her head to look at her defender, 'it should have been Cole.'_

_The bodyguard behaved as if he had not noticed her words. He nodded to the potion, 'it will dull the pain of your decision.'_

_Phoebe sighed and indicated to the plant pot, 'it's poison.'_

_'Sometimes a little poison can make the world seem a lot more pleasant.' _

_Phoebe smiled, 'ain't that the truth.'_

_'Will there be anything else, madam?' The demon bowed his head and reverted to servant mode._

_Phoebe hesitated, 'before Cole, did you serve the old source?'_

_'Yes, a little. I am a demon.'_

_'Right,' Phoebe looked at the bodyguard wondering what his story was. 'Was the old source... I mean, is... Is Cole different?'_

_'Yes, sometimes. To a demon, he seems very different. But to a human? He is the source of all evil. There is no changing that, no matter who else he might be.'_


	2. Sleuthing With The Enemy

**Sleuthing With The Enemy**

'The thing is Phoebe...' Paige started quietly, unsure whether it was safe to speak, 'surely, now he'll kill the innocent.'

'He doesn't kill innocents.' Phoebe said.

'Erm, Phoebe wasn't that what we just caught him doing?' Paige asked, 'I mean, that's what it looked like to me.'

Paige loved her sisters unconditionally but she sometimes didn't trust their judgement.

'Paige, I know this demon, he's a bodyguard. He only ever kills other demons.' Phoebe rubbed her forehead.

Piper rolled her eyes, 'then what was he doing with the innocent? Protecting him.' Piper snorted.

'Maybe,' Phoebe said.

* * *

_'You know Chess normally isn't my kind of thing.' Phoebe smiled._

_'No, but there aren't too many shops in the underworld. Not with things you'd want to buy, anyway.' Phoebe's bodyguard smiled and moved his knight, ready to take her bishop._

_'So why do you like Chess?'_

_'It's a distraction.' _

_Phoebe found herself empathising with a demon, 'kind of like my column.'_

_'Yes, exactly, except I don't help anybody.'_

_'Well, neither do I recently. I just add 'cruel advice columnist' to their list of things to seek advice on.'_

_The demon laughed. It was a great, hearty laugh that startled Phoebe and made her giggle too._

_'Thankyou,' she said._

_'For what?' He asked._

_'Today, you've been my distraction.'_

_There was a pause whilst Phoebe considered her next move. Then the demon spoke, 'Phoebe, Chess will only distract you for so long. And the poison can deaden your heart but it can't take away your choice.'_

_'What choice?' Phoebe played dumb._

_'You saved an innocent today. And whilst you would die for Cole, you know that it is not Cole you are marrying. It is us, the underworld; grimlocks outside your bedroom until late into the night, a husband whose eyes flash and destroy souls. Your only confidantes are a demon who's good for nothing but Chess and the seer who's trying to poison you. Where is Cole in all this?'_

_'What do you mean?' Phoebe whispered._

_'I mean, Phoebe, that staying with the source won't save Cole, but it might kill you.' Phoebe plonked her chess piece onto a random square on the board._

_'You can't move there,' the demon said._

_'I thought you were Cole's servant.' Phoebe's voice shook._

_'I am. I served him long before he was the source and I will serve him long afterwards. But to tell you to stay would be to serve a demon who is not my master.' _

_Phoebe sat back in her chair, 'you have said too much.'

* * *

_

Phoebe sat alone in her bedroom in the manor. She couldn't stop thinking about the demon. She wanted the same answers as her sisters, she just couldn't bare to admit it. There was a knock on her door and Paige's voice sounded out, muffled through the wood.

'Phoebe, I'm going to follow the innocent, would you like to come? Wanna be my stalking buddy?'

Phoebe dropped her head in thought; vanquishing demons was the last thing on her mind but there was one demon she would like to see.

'Sure,' she said. 'I'm just coming.'

* * *

Paige and Phoebe walked absently behind their innocent.

'Why do innocents always feel the need to walk down dark alleys?' Paige asked. Phoebe smiled dutifully.

'Phoebe,' Paige started seriously, 'look, I know you don't want to talk about this but I just have one question... why did he call you his queen? I mean, that was kind of chilling.'

Phoebe sucked her lip in sadly, 'I don't know, I think it was kind of a joke.' She stopped. 'He was my bodyguard, when I was married to Cole, Paige and he was... he was my friend, my only friend actually, so... Look, I know it's asking alot but-'

'No, it's okay.' Paige said. 'That's all I needed to know.'

The bodyguard appeared at the alleyway.

'Uh-oh,' said Paige, 'what do we do now?'

'Just wait,' Phoebe pleaded, 'if he tries to hurt him, we'll vanquish him.'

'But we don't even know if we can.' Paige murmured, pulling her sister behind a dumpster.

'Daniel.' The innocent did not seem suprised by the sudden appearance of a demon in front of him. Furthermore, he recognised him. Phoebe and Paige looked at one another, suprised.

'I am not here to hurt you,' the demon spoke calmly. Paige raised her eyebrow, but this time she was the only one that was suprised.

'What do you want then?' The innocent asked angrily.

'I've come to offer you a way out.'

The innocent looked up, shocked but then his face dropped angrily, 'your comrades have already been killed. It seems I have some Charmed defenders. You are no threat to me, Daniel.'

Paige's mouth dropped, 'how does he know about us?' She hissed.

'Ssssh.' Phoebe whispered back, straining to hear the conversation.

'And I wouldn't want to be a threat.' Daniel continued. 'No, it is something else I speak of. There is a cupid who lives in the city. He goes by the name of Coop. Go to him. Tell him I have sent you. Tell him you want to save her. He can help you.'

Paige's mouth stretched a little further, 'he's talking about Coop! Your Coop!'

Phoebe turned around, bewildered, 'c'mon. Let's go.'

* * *

_Phoebe slid a key into her appartment door and walked in. She gasped. She hadn't known what she expected but she hadn't thought that it would be so unchanged. Everything was the same as it had been earlier that day. Broken glass was scattered across the floor, crystals dotted amongst it. The carpet was still singed where she had vanquished Cole. She buried her face in her hands._

_'Welcome back, oh queen.' It was one of Cole's servants. He spat at Phoebe and threw a fireball towards her. She dodged it. Then a second demon appeared. Three more, all wielding fireballs. _

_'Leo!' Phoebe shouted. She had not told her sisters where she was going. She had not considered that there might be demons in the appartment. It was not Leo who appeared though. It was a sixth demon, her bodyguard. The bodyguard threw what looked like a lightning bolt towards one of the demons whilst Phoebe flew into another's head._

_'That was unwise, Daniel,' hissed one of the remaining demons. 'The underworld does not look kindly on those who serve the Charmed Ones.'_

_'The underworld need never know,' Daniel replied, throwing three more bolts at the remaining demons. Phoebe looked at him shocked._

_'Didn't you get the memo? I'm not evil anymore. So it's no more Chess for you and me, I'm afraid.'_

_Daniel smiled wrily, 'I suspect you may be right. My queen.' He saluted Phoebe and dissappeared.

* * *

_

Phoebe stood in the attic, surrounded by her sisters and Leo. 'Coop!' She yelled, 'Coop! Get your butt down here this minute.' There was a flash of pink and a man with puppy dog eyes and dimples appeared next to Phoebe. He smiled, a kodak smile.

'Hey,' he said softly.

'Hi,' Phoebe said for some reason suprised by his warmth.

'Don't you 'Hi' him,' Paige exclaimed, 'he's in league with the underworld!'

Coop looked around, bewildered, 'I'm what?' He asked sheepishly.

'Paige and I were following an innocent earlier and we overheard a demon tell him to come and see you.'

'A demon?' Coop furrowed his brow in confusion. 'Well, what did he look like?'

'Tall, dark and handsome.' Paige barked suspisciously.

'Hmph,' Coop smiled jovially, 'doesn't sound very demonic to me. Got anything else to go on?'

'Not really,' Paige said defeated.

'His name's Daniel and he throws these jets of light when he kills - they're like lightning bolts.'

'Lightning bolts? Well that sounds like a-' Leo started.

Coop interrupted, 'Oh, Daniel! Well, yes, yes I do know him.'

Piper had stopped listening to Coop, 'when did you see him fight?' She asked Phoebe.

'When he saved my life,' Phoebe said quietly.

'So, who is this Daniel and what does he want with our innocent?' Paige asked, hoping to move the conversation onto safer ground.

'Er, the innocent, I don't know.' Coop volunteered, 'but I've worked with Daniel in the past. It's a little unorthadox but nothing concerning Daniel is exactly regular. In fact, he's the person that suggested I visit you.'

'He what?' Paige's mouth opened the widest it had all day.

'Well, I did _not_ see that coming.' Piper remarked.

'I don't think any of us did.' Phoebe added, a little less than pleased.

'I thought the Elders sent you,' Leo asked, frowning.

'Well, yes,' Coop responded, 'the elders sent me but it was Daniel's idea.'

'Why would he do that?' Phoebe asked, dismayed. Coop moved towards her comfortingly but she backed off, 'I don't understand why he would do that.'

'Why did you save him today?' Piper asked cynically.

'I saved him,' Phoebe yelled, 'because he saved me.' Her voice dropped. 'Because he gave me courage when I had none.'

'Hey, hey, it's okay. We'll find out what's going on.' Coop wrapped his arms round Phoebe. 'It'll be okay.'


	3. Sympathy For The Demon

**Sympathy For The Demon**

There was a demon sat in the Halliwell living room.

'I can_not_ believe our innocent is a demon!' Piper cried.

'So, hang on,' Paige addressed the demon-slash-innocent, 'just run this by me again. You killed an innocent but you love that innocent and now you want us to go back in time to save that innocent.'

'She was my girlfriend, I never had any plans to kill her. But she came up on the demonic radar and I was ordered to. I'm a demon, y'know, what can you do?'

'Right.' Piper smiled sarcastically.

'What exactly can we do to help you?' Phoebe asked.

'Look, I'm sorry to bother you, I really am. But saving innocents is what you do, isn't it? All I want is for you to send me back in time, I'll try and talk some sense into myself and if that doesn't work, then I would please like you to vanquish me.'

'Can't you just do that yourself?' Paige asked, not thrilled by the prospect of time-travelling.

'Erm, no, it's unlikely,' Leo chipped in, 'in the past, those who have tried to battle with themselves, literally, have ended up fighting for eternity. The powers of either side are too equally matched.'

'Well, sorry, we don't do time travel.' Piper said and began to walk out the room.

'Right. Well, that's okay. I didn't think you'd help me. I mean, I am a demon. It's just Daniel said there was nothing you girls wouldn't do for an innocent.'

'Enough of this Daniel. I'm sick of him already.' Piper moaned.

'He's right.' Phoebe said. 'There's not. We'll help you. _I'll_ help you.'

'Phoebe,' Piper spoke through gritted teeth, '_future consequences._'

'Piper, maybe we're meant to change it. Otherwise, why would I have had the premonition in the first place. Good magic lead us to him. We have an innocent to save and the opportunity to convert a demon to the good fight. He's right, that's what we do.'

'No, Phoebe,' Piper said sadly, 'only you work with demons.'

'Well,' said Paige, 'we did all work with Zankou... and the seer, twice and then there was-'

Piper sighed, exhasperated, 'how can demons even love? I thought you couldn't feel.'

'Upper level demons all have a human form. Normally, this is good only for disguise, coming up above ground so on and so forth. But, occassionally, normally as a result of extensive interaction with humans - demons who go undercover or explore the arts, for example - the human side becomes prevailent. So, yes, upper level demons are sometimes capable of emotion; love, grief etcetera.'

'Like Cole.' Phoebe smiled.

'Yes, and Drake.' The demon added.

'My, my, you do do your homework.' Piper rolled her head backwards, 'Well, what about you, what were you? Undercover? Movie fan?'

'No, a guy. I had urges, y'know. She was only meant to be bit of fun.'

'Right! I've heard enough of this.' Piper snapped, 'Get Coop back here. We need his ring because I am not cooking up potions. And you!' She pointed accusingly at the demon. 'You tell Paige what it'll take for us to kill you.'

* * *

'How weird must it be to suddenly see youself in front of you,' Paige whispered to Phoebe. Once again, they were hiding behind a dumpster.

'Been there, done that.' Phoebe replied. They watched patiently as the demon, Nathanael, approached himself.

'You don't want to do this.' He said.

'Do what?' He replied.

'You don't want to kill her.'

'I don't?'

'No, listen to me. I know you. I am you and I know what your future holds if you do this. Pain, only pain. Killing her won't end your love. Your human side is too strong. You can't fight it. You have to embrace it. Don't kill her. Walk away.'

The demon did not look suprised by the appearance of his future self, 'you might know the pain I will cause myself by doing this but you cannot know the pain the underworld will cause me if I don't.'

'No!' The demon responded, 'Daniel has sworn to protect us. And the Charmed Ones, they are helping me too.'

'Daniel? He works for the brotherhood. He will be the first to condemn us.'

'The brotherhood are dead, the Charmed Ones killed them.'

'The brotherhood?' Piper looked to her sisters.

'They must be the other demons that you killed yesterday.' Paige said.

'Oh, right. I forgot about them.'

Nathanael's past self let out a cry and he turned on his future self, 'do you not understand? We are demonic. There is no way out. You can talk about Balthazor and Drake and the Seer but they are all dead. They _died_ for their humanity and their reputations died with them. Who remembers Balthazor as the demonic champion that he was? No-one. Everybody remembers the fool who loved the witch that vanquished him.'

'Do you think Balthazor is sorry?'

'You fool.' Nathanael pulled a fireball on himself. It met with another sent from his future self and exploded in the sky.

'I think that's our cue.' Paige said, moving out from behind the dumpster. Her sisters followed her.

'Aw, jees,' Nathanael groaned, 'you brought the Charmed Ones.'

'Fraid so.' Phoebe said. 'Look, just listen to yourself and we can go home, we don't have to vanquish you.'

'If I don't kill her, somebody else will.'

'Not if we get to them first.'

'Well, if you don't kill me, something else will. So do your worst.'

'What?' Paige was taken aback. 'You'd rather us vanquish you than reject demondom for love.'

'Yes. I would rather die here then spend the rest of my life fighting the eternal battle. I'm not Balthazor. I don't have that strength. I was never a champion demon and I'll never be a great lover. Let's just end it now.'

'But you _are _a great lover. Look at yourself.' Paige indicated the future Nathanael.

'No, you look. That's not strength. It's fear and fatigue. I am tired. I've come back because I cannot deal with the weight of humanity. You are the Charmed Ones. You should know, there is no redeeming demons.'

Paige looked at the future Nathanael, inquisitively, 'what should we do?'

He smiled bitterly, 'it is better to have loved and lost... I hope. Just do it. Vanquish us.'


	4. Deja Vu All Over Again

**Deja Vu All Over Again**

'What do we do now?' Phoebe turned to Piper.

'I say we go home!' Paige said, nodding to Coop's ring.

'No.' Piper said slowly, 'we can't.'

'Why not?'

'Because now we've vanquished Nathanael, the brotherhood will be on their way to kill the innocent.'

'But we've killed the brotherhood.' Paige said indignantly, 'or at least you have.'

'Not in this time, we haven't.' Phoebe sighed.

'My head hurts!'

'Warning! Time travel side effects may include head aches, future consequences and a slight nausea.' Phoebe grinned.

'Let's go!'

* * *

Piper flicked her hands and the first of five demons exploded. Three more went in a similar fashion but as Piper raised her hands to finish off the last of the clan - 

'Piper!' Phoebe shouted at her sister.

'Oh, right. Not that one. I forget.'

'Yeah right you did.'

Daniel smiled, 'you're a little earlier than I expected.'

'You expected us?' Paige wrinkled her nose, not sure if she liked the idea of demons expecting them or not.

'Yes, Paige. I'm afraid I did. Now, tell me. Nathanael? What was his fate?'

'The same as yours is going to be, if I've got anything to do with it.' Piper said under her breath.

'Have I upset you, Piper?'

'I don't like demons.' Piper smiled. 'Most of all, I don't like demons who try to manipulate me.'

'You feel used.' Piper got the distinct impression that Daniel was mocking her.

'Look, buddy. I don't know who you are. But if it were down to me, I'd be sending your ass to the wasteland right about now.'

Daniel laughed, amused by Piper's fury.

'Well, I'm Daniel Warren and I'm delighted to meet you.' He grinned and held out his hand. Piper didn't take it. Phoebe eyed the pair up warily.

'Daniel, what do you want?' She asked.

'Nothing. I wanted to save Nathanael's love. I've done that now. So you are free to go.' He waved his hand jovially and turned away.

'Wait a minute!' Piper yelled. 'You don't get to dismiss us. We'll vanquish your sorry ass.'

The demon turned round, a smile curling on his lips and he locked Piper in a stare, 'I'd like to see you try.'

'Uh-oh.' Paige didn't like the way this conversation was headed.

Piper raised her hands and flicked her fingers outwards. There was a brief spark on Daniel's shoulder. He touched it, 'ooh! Ouch!' He flashed his eyes, teasingly.

'It'll take alot more firepower than that to vanquish me, Piper..

'D'you want to see what I've got?'

The demon sighed, 'I already know what you've got, Piper. Go home already.'

'Erm, Piper, I think the demon's right.' Paige said, pulling her sister away from Daniel.

'Wait! Why did you save Phoebe's life?' Piper narrowed her eyes. The demon kept smiling.

'Goodbye, Piper.' He twirled his wrists as if cocking an imaginary hat and dissappeared.

* * *

Once again, the sisters stood in the attic, flicking through the Book of Shadows. 

'What exactly are we looking for?' Paige asked.

'Lightning throwing demon who's immune to the Power of Three.' Piper said, rocking Chris on her knee. 'Leo!' She called up towards the ceiling.

'Er, honey, I think he's downstairs.' Phoebe volunteered.

'I know, it's just automatic. I shout for Leo, I look upwards.'

'I can't find anything in here.' Paige sighed. Leo walked in through the attic doorway.

'Hey, what's up?' He asked.

'I couldn't vanquish him.' Piper sniped.

'Who? Nathanael?'

'No, Daniel.'

'I didn't think you wanted to.'

'Well, I do now.'

'Well,' said Leo, 'scratching his head. I don't know. Lightning bolts sounds more god-like than demonic to me. Some elders, upper level angels, greek gods, not many demons have that sort of power.'

'Oh, great!' Piper passed Chris to Leo and marched towards the book, 'look up Gods.'

There was a flash of pink and Coop appeared, 'oh good, you're back.' He walked towards Phoebe and took his ring. 'was everything okay?' He asked.

'Piper wants to kill Daniel,' Phoebe said unhappily.

Coop looked towards Piper, dismayed, 'you musn't.'

'Not you too.' Piper groaned.

Coop looked around the room, concerned, 'you don't know who he is. Vanquishing Daniel could do endless harm. It could end up hurting you guys.'

Piper's eyes widened.

'Besides, you probably don't have the power,' Coop added cagily.

'Really?' Even Phoebe was suprised.

'We've vanquished the source, the triad, Zankou, Barbas, but we don't have the power for... for him?' Said Paige, disbelieving.

'Dammit!; Piper turned on Coop, 'what is going on? Why are you working with demons? '

Coop stepped back, nervously. He smiled at Piper, then looked to Phoebe for support. Phoebe shrugged.

'Okay, okay. ' He said. 'Daniel's not exactly a demon. Well, he is. But, his mother was a witch.'

'But not a goddess?' Paige said nervously.

'No, not a goddess.' Coop smiled. 'Anyhow, I'm a cupid, right? I believe in love. I mean, love is what I do. In the past, Daniel has helped me use love to... to save demons.'

'What?' Phoebe looked confused, 'what do you mean?'

'Demons falling in love,' Coop explained, 'love's redemptive powers in the underworld. The self-sacrifice that love requires - that's good's ultimate triumph.'

'Smells kinda fishy to me.' Paige said.

'Yes, I know,' Coop said, 'but look what Cole's love did for Balthazor. It destroyed the demon.'

'And eventually the man.' Phoebe said.

'No, the man was redeemed, Phoebe. You must see that. Your love vanquished Balthazor and it delayed the Triad until a time when you were ready to fight them. Back then, you wouldn't have stood a chance. It did untold good.'

'Oh my go,' Phoebe looked at Coop as if he were a stranger, 'did you have something to do with that?' She asked.

'Daniel and I... influenced proceedings. We saw potential in your union.'

'I can't take this.' Phoebe looked at Coop, hurt, 'how can you meddle in people's lives like that? How could you send a demon here?'

'It was for the greater good. It was for love.'

'It was wrong.'

'Love is never wrong.'

'That's where you're mistaken.'


End file.
